Manila, Philippines More than half of cases of child abuse reported in

school year 2012-2013 involved acts of bullying, the Department of

Education said yesterday.
This makes the enactment of Republic Act 10627, the Anti-Bullying Act
of 2013 all the more significant, DepEd said.
According to a summary of child abuse cases reported to DepEd in
school year 2012-2013, around 80 percent or 1,165 out of 1,456 cases
involved acts of bullying. The other 20 percent, or 291, involved other
forms of abuse, including sexual abuse.
The National Capital Region (NCR) recorded 489 cases of child abuse,
the highest among all regions, with 443 involving bullying. This is
followed by 228 cases in Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) with
216 involving bullying, Region VI, 134 cases, 114 involving bullying.
Region X had the least number of reported child abuse cases with only
one case of bullying and four other child abuse related incidents.
Region I recorded 30 cases (24 bullying and six other child abuse
cases); Region II, 16 cases (seven bullying and nine other child abuse
cases); Region III, 18 cases (10 bullying and eight other child abuse
cases); Region IV-A, 183 cases (112 bullying and 71 other child abuse
cases); Region IV-B, 67 cases (48 bullying and 19 other child abuse
cases); Region V, 49 cases (18 bullying and 31 other child abuse
cases);
Region VII, 30 cases (13 bullying and 17 other child abuse cases);
Region VIII, 16 cases (six bullying and 10 other child abuse cases);
Region IX, 16 cases (five bullying and 11 other child abuse cases);
Region XI, 67 cases (61 bullying and six other child abuse cases);
Region XII, 96 cases (85 bullying and 11 other child abuse cases), and
Region XIII, 12 cases (two bullying and 10 other child abuse cases).
DepEd Assistant Secretary Tonisito Umali, We are very happy with the
anti-bullying law because it adds more teeth to the existing guidelines of
DepEd against child abuse and violence.
The law specifies that DepEd may impose on non-compliant public or
private schools, Umali said.
DepEd can only exercise reasonable control over private schools, but
with this law, we can impose sanctions on erring private schools by
suspending their permits or close them down if they remain defiant or
non-compliant despite repeated reminders and warnings, he said.
Under RA 10627, schools have six months to formulate their own anti-
bullying policies after the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR)
have been released by DepEd.
Meanwhile, Senator Juan Edgardo Sonny Angara, one of the principal
authors of the anti-bullying measure, said I congratulate both houses of
Congress and our President for working together in providing the Filipino
youth the opportunity for maximum learning in a peaceful and violence-
free setting through the passage of this law.
The school is our childrens second home. I call on school authorities to
be proactive and responsive to the law in order to ensure the safety of
the students. That is their primary responsibility and promise to parents,
said Angara.
Senator Ma. Lourdes Nancy Binay said the anti-bullying law will usher
in a new proactive mindset in school environments that will ultimately
curb the early onset of a culture of violence among children.
As a mother, I deeply appreciate our President for the immediate
signing of this bill into law. I believe that this will create a new positive
culture of caring in school environments as it stops, prevents and
protects children from the early prevalence of violence among students,
Binay said. (With a report from Hannah L. Torregoza)